By Rafiu Ajakaye
LAGOS
Nigeria liberated the northeastern town of Baga from militants affiliated with the radical Boko Haram movement, which captured it on Jan. 7, presidency and defense officials have said.
"Baga is free just as President Jonathan vowed," presidential aide, Reno Omokri, said on Saturday.
"The harder the terrorists come the harder they fall," he added on his Twitter account.
Defense spokesman, Chris Olukolade, meanwhile, confirmed this news to the Anadolu Agency.
"Yes, it is true," Olukolade said. "We will give details later in our statement or on our blog," he added in a text message.
The militants' capture of Baga and neighboring towns drew international attention.
Amnesty International said over 2,000 people were massacred in attacks in these towns, while tens of thousands of others were displaced.
The army denied, however, this toll, noting that only about 150 people had been killed in these attacks.
Baga had been the headquarters of multinational troops. The militants were reported to have captured lethal weapons from this headquarters when they occupied the town.
The multinational force, originally established in the 1990s to fight cross border crimes and was later deployed to combat Boko Haram, includes troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad and recently Cameroon.
The recaptured of Baga just adds to the gales of victory the Nigerian military has recorded against the insurgents in the past days.
A few days ago, the army recaptured at least 11 towns in two days of air and ground raids that reportedly left over 300 militants dead.
